Fairborn Adventures

AN: Hey guys!

Welcome to Chapter 90.

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Chapter 90

July 2nd, 1978

The faint echo of Harry's magic pulsed from within the ring on her finger in gentle, steady ripples. Marlene stared down at her trembling, mud-covered hand. The image disgusted her. Some of it had even managed to spatter over the tiny engraving of the granian.

She vanished the dirt with a flick of her wand before sitting back down on Harry's bed, placing shaky arms on her lap.

'Oh, Harry.' Unease curled into her pounding heart with sharp, cold claws, taking the breath out of her lungs. 'Please, don't make me wait too long.'

Her skin suddenly tingled when a familiar magical presence filled the room. The quiet rustle of a cloak made her head snap back up.

Hard green eyes lost some of their coldness and softened as they took her in.

"Harry!"

In the blink of an eye, she was up and hurled herself into his embrace, fingers curling into the fabric over his shoulders. She held onto him while her body shook as if someone might tear him away from her any second.

"You're trembling!" Marlene gasped and patted him down, looking frantically for injuries: "Are you hurt?!"

"No, I'm okay," His cold hands seized her wrists and stopped her dead in the attempt.

She winced when his grip became silently uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry." Harry immediately let go and pulled her closer, whispered into her hair, his lips brushing over her forehead: "But really, I'm okay..."

"And- and Voldemort?" Marlene peaked up through a veil of disheveled blonde curls, feeling her heart pounding harder: "Did you-"

"No," Harry hissed, his jaw clenched: "I- I wasn't ready today."

"Oh…"

He must have noticed the trace of disappointment because his eyes suddenly sparkled with cold fury and his fingertips dug into her skin.

"I didn't mean it like that, Harry." Marlene swallowed down a small stab of concern, attempting to fix a reassuring smile on her face instead: "It's okay, really." She ran her fingers through his hair and buried her face in the crook of his neck: "You've had a long day of apparitions, erected some wards, fought off Death Eaters and gian-"

"I don't need excuses right now, Marlene." His voice was sharp as ice, tearing right through her heart.

"I- I'm sorry," she whispered: "I'm just glad you're okay."

He deflated a bit, his shoulder lost some of the tension. Still, the questions lingered on the tip of her tongue, threatening to spill from her lips.

Harry seemed to sense it. He sighed and managed a weak smile: "It wasn't all for nothing. I managed to trick him..."

She stared up at him: "How so?"

"Obviously he figured out that I was the Parselmouth at Hogwarts from what the Acromantulas told him," Harry said: "Hence, he also correctly assumed that I also took the Ring from the Gaunt shack, killed Avery, and stole the Cup from the Lestranges."

'That doesn't sound good for us all.'

"And what about the Diadem?" Marlene asked carefully: "Surely Voldemort's been told that the Room doesn't open anymore?"

"But he still didn't mention it." The ghost of a smile hovered on Harry's face: "Perhaps he's been told, perhaps not, we can't know for sure. But if there's only the slightest chance of some other factor being responsible for the Room not showing up, a slim chance for the Diadem to still linger within the Room undiscovered, then why should he risk exposing it to me? By not mentioning it, he's secretly admitting that he still hopes it hasn't been located."

'This is good for us.' Marlene felt her heart pounding a tad faster, this time with excitement. 'This is really good.'

She nodded her understanding: "Hopefully you didn't feel the need to teach him better?"

"Why, of course not," Harry snorted: "Instead I spouted some absolute hogwash about 'three being a powerful magical number', hoping to throw him off-guard. I'm almost certain that he fell for it."

"Almost is not enough, love." Marlene cupped his jaw, staring up at him intently: "When the moment comes, and you face each other again for a final time, we have to make sure there isn't another hidden Horcrux somewhere."

A small spasm flinched over Harry's face: "There won't be, he will wait with the creation of the last one."

"Why would he wai-" The words died in her throat when she understood.

'The deaths have to be of importance.'

"You?" Marlene shuddered, fingers tensing around his neck: "He wants to make his final Horcrux with your death?"

"Just like last time," Harry muttered grimly: "I'm the one that got closest to stripping him of his immortality, I'd suppose there'd be some cruel irony to it if my death helped him complete his journey..."

'No!' A small girl with golden hair cried at her father's grave, her tiny fingers digging into the dirt. A cold stab of fear pierced her heart before she managed to tear the image away. 'Never!'

"Don't even joke up something like that! You're not allowed to die!" Marlene hissed, tugging him down by the hair to kiss him hard and pressing her body against his: "You'll make sure to win, Harry. You have to win!"

"I know, I won't lose." Harry swallowed thickly: "I- I will find something that will help me win." His eyes never left hers, burning bright with determination: "I refuse to let him get to you. I've come too far to die and become nothing..."

"Promise me you will do anything!" She kissed him again, this time more tenderly, brushing her lips against his until the tension left his body. "Anything it takes, Harry!"

"I promise." His teeth dug into her bottom lip until a sharp spike of sweet pain flared through her: "There's nothing I wouldn't do."

His caressing touches soon grew more demanding. Both their breaths were ragged when he suddenly cupped her rear and heaved her up in his arms, pressing her against the wall tightly.

"Good," Marlene repeated in soft whispers locking her legs behind him, capturing his lips in another searing kiss.

She planted the flat palm of her hands over his chest so she could feel his heart pounding underneath hot skin: "Now carry me to the bathroom, love. I still owe you a shower and the two of us are in desperate need of one."

July 15th, 1978

Teary, black liquid spread in tiny veins from the spot where Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem had been pierced by the Basilisk fang, corrupting the smooth silvery surface of the once priceless artifact.

Harry picked it up from the desk, turning it over in his hand and bringing it closer to his ear.

'Nothing.'

No vicious silent whispers, no compulsion to place it onto his own head.

'And no echo of any other magic, either,' Harry sighed and tossed the cup from one hand to the other: 'The venom not only obliterated Tom's soul shard but also any enchantments Rowena might have placed on it.'

An image of Marlene's bright green killing curse striking the locket played over in his mind.

'I should've tried that before resolving to something so drastic.' His thumb brushed over the faint engravings in the diadem: 'I could really use some wisdom right now.'

"Are you fretting again, Harry?" Aurelius' voice was carried over from the bedside table in faint whispers: "You've faced worse things than weddings before. You know, I was roughly the same age when I got married."

Harry sighed: "I'm not-"

"-sure, it's a monumental step, "Aurelius continued unbothered, "but I still believe you couldn't have picked a better young lady to father your children and spend your life with."

"I'm not worried about that." Harry rolled his eyes and carried the Diadem over to the tome: "Why should I when I've never been so certain about anything in my life as I am about marrying Marlene?"

'Besides, she's perfect for me in every way.'

"Well what is it then? I can practically hear you thinking and your magic is swerving again. It's annoying!"

Harry remained silent for a few seconds, spinning his wand between his fingers. Black mist spewed from the Elder Wand, curling around the Diadem before wrenching back into the tip of the wood.

"I'm thinking about death," Harry admitted carefully. "And about souls..."

'About immortality even...'

"Why the sudden interest?" Aurelius' voice dropped to an even fainter whisper.

"Inspiration has struck after my recent talk with Voldemort. A horcrux anchors your soul to this realm..." Harry mused, summoning the cup over from the table into his open palm: "When you were handed to me by the Flamels two years ago, my first intuition was that you were a soul shard as well. The magic within you just felt so similar to Riddle's Diary."

"There are a few similarities of course." Aurelius' bust flickered and nodded: "Each of us was created to leave an imprint on this earth, to hide something immensely valuable. Yet the intent with which we were created is as different as night and day. Voldemort, true to his name, intended to outsmart death. I merely desired to consult my descendants and keep our invaluable knowledge within the family."

"I see." Harry brought the tip of the Elder Wand down to Aurelius' bust on the yellowed parchments, watching as bubbles of black ink spurt from its depths. "But why didn't you ever create a horcrux yourself? At the very least it might've granted you some security during your time as Master of Death."

Marlene's soft, warm smile flashed through his inner eye: 'And you'd know that you'll always be able to return to your family.'

The shadow flicked: "I don't think I could've, Harry, even if I had tried."

"Why not?" He frowned: "I know you've killed your fair share of witches and wizards."

"There's more to splitting your soul than just killing, Harry," Aurelius sizzled: "As with all things magical, the intent behind it is what's most crucial..."

"The intent behind killing?" Harry spun the Elder Wand between his fingers, his mind took him back several years.

'An act of evil — the supreme act of evil.' Slughorn's words rang in his ears: 'By committing murder.'

"Killing is not enough," Harry mused: "It has to be malicious, cruel even. It has to be-"

"-Selfish," Aurelius finished for him: "Do you think you've split your soul by defending yourself against Quirrell when you were eleven years old? Do you think you've split your soul when Voldemort's curse backfired against him since the Elder Wand recognized you as its true master?"

"No..." Harry frowned: "It wasn't enough."

'I didn't act selfishly in either situation. It did it to stop Voldemort from hurting other people. People who would've done the same for me…'

"I've killed dozens of witches and wizards in my life, Harry," Aurelius continued: "Some, because they sought out the Hallows and stopped at nothing to take them from me. Others, to protect my family and those I loved. Not once have I torn my soul."

'Could I have?'

"And what about me?" Harry swallowed a small stab of apprehension, his hand absently wandering to his chest where he felt the faint pounding of his heart: "What about my soul after everything I've done already?"

Aurelius was silent, his black shadow wrenching around: "You've come close, Harry, much closer than me, but I don't think you've been there yet."

"I've not killed anyone innocent, but some of them were very young people." Faces hovered in front of Harry's inner eye. His lips curled in a snort: "Dumbledore would argue that they all deserved a chance at redemption. Take Severus Snape, he-"

"-might've turned out to be an even bigger threat than he was in your time, because of events you've now influenced."

"Barty Crouch Jr.-"

"-was already partly responsible for countless deaths by passing on valuable information to Voldemort," Aurelius countered again: "The same holds true for any other students you've killed during raids."

'Perhaps he's right,' Harry contemplated. 'Besides, each time I killed, I was truly convinced I'm doing the right thing. Not just for me, but to end this war quicker.'

"What would it take then?" he asked, forcing the faint traces of excitement to remain unnoticeable. "To truly tear my soul? Hypothetically of course," he added, face wrenching into a grimace.

'Great, I'm already sounding like Riddle.'

"For a murder to split your soul, you'd have to consciously perform it, knowing that what you're doing is wrong, knowing that you're making the world a worse place by continuing," Aurelius explained: "It has to be an act of evil and selfishness, Harry. Complete selfishness. Only then could taking a life harm your soul."

Harry was silent, thinking about each word that was spoken.

"And that is why you think you couldn't have done it?" he piqued: "Because you couldn't get yourself to commit such an act?"

"And I just didn't feel the need for it," Aurelius hummed: "Perhaps he's the first to have created multiple, but do you honestly think Voldemort is the only person in history to have ever created a horcrux?"

"No, of course not." Harry turned the thought over: "But the reason why we don't hear nor learn about them is that it's not real immortality you gain anyway. You can still die of old age, just not of any unnatural causes, like a physical attack on your body."

"Exactly," Aurelius' bust nodded: "Those in history, who willingly split their souls, still passed away eventually, albeit after living very long lives. I, however, needed something permanent, so I created this instead."

Harry cringed: "It's not so permanent anymore, is it?"

Aurelius chuckled faintly: "There's not much I could've still taught you, Harry. I'm at a threshold where something else is expected of me, to see my dream finally come true, something other than guiding my descendants."

"Thank you... for everything," Harry swallowed the lump in his throat: "And I'm sorry."

"Don't be, Harry." Black ink spread out over the pages, forming a single raven, then a flock of almost a dozen before they wrenched together into a majestic thestral that flapped its wings and took to the sky: "It was you who brought House Peverell back from the realm of shadows and whispers. The least I can do to thank you for reviving my blood is to make sure it prospers, even if I won't be able to witness its renaissance."

"I'm still sorry it had to come this way, but I see no other choice," Harry apologized, running his thumb over the leather cover. "Too many of my secrets have been spilled already. Neither Dumbledore nor Riddle can have access to any more."

'I can't take any more risks. And I promised Marlene I'd do anything.'

"A dream for a dream, Harry," Aurelius' bust reappeared, flickering madly: "A dream for a dream. Don't underestimate the old headmaster. Voldemort might seem like the obvious enemy in this scenario, however, I don't doubt Albus Dumbledore will pull through with his threat the next time you meet."

The headmaster's blue eyes, sparkling with cold fury as they had during only a very few occasions, danced through Harry's mind.

'Never.'

"I won't let him," Harry vowed, ice slipping into his voice: "He chose to treat me as an enemy the moment we met, all because of his inability to not have total control of everything in his reach. He chose to become an obstacle, and I won't hesitate to remove him."

"Good," Aurelius' bust nodded: "Now, how much time do I have left?"

"Tempus," Harry whispered, glimpsing up at the purple wisps of magic that spewed from the Elder Wand: "Marlene should have finished her shopping trip by now. I'll see if she's waiting in the living room."

Unable to shrink it, he loaded the tome into his backpack and swung it over his shoulder, strolling down the hallway of Potter Manor towards where the muffled voices drifted over to him.

"-it's so beautiful, Marlene! I'm sure Harry will love it," Lily said from behind the door to the living room.

"What exactly will I love?" Harry slipped into the room with a chuckle.

Marlene let out a small squeak and spun around to hide something behind her body. Still, Harry caught the swirling edges of something silky white.

"You're not allowed to see yet," Marlene cleared her throat, glancing at him with a small blush on her pale cheeks.

"Why not?" Harry made a lazy attempt at peeking at what's behind her.

Marlene's pout turned into a small smirk while she allowed Dorea and Lily to walk behind her and securely store whatever she was hiding away. "Because it will be a surprise..."

"Not even a little peek?" Harry walked over to her, scooping his arms around her waist and pressing a kiss to the top of her head: "Pretty please?"

"No, my love." A bright gleam dwelled in her blue eyes from underneath long lashes, causing his heart to flutter: "But don't fret too much. It's only a few more days of patience..."

Harry grinned and tugged some stray golden curls behind her ear: "I cannot wait to unveil it."

"Neither can I." Her warm breath brushed over his jaw before she leaned in, resting her head in the crook of his neck, while her fingers curled into his robes.

Harry breathed in her sweet, calming scent, forgetting the world around him until a small, muffled sniff reminded him that there were still others in the room.

He glanced up to catch Dorea wiping her eyes with a small handkerchief handed to her by Lily.

"You two are truly made for each other," his grandmother whispered with a hitching breath: "I'm so glad that you found this string of happiness. Hold on tight to it, even- no… especially in times of hardship."

"We will," Harry vowed: "But now we have some more preparations to make."

He tightened his hold on Marlene's waist, waiting for her short nod before forcing the world past him as they vanished from Potter Manor.

'To our future home.'

The slim, neat towers, bay windows, and balconies of North Dawn Manor rose from the small peninsula it stood on, shining a faint pink in the rays of the setting sun that still made it over the hills.

The surface of the surrounding lake reflected the warm light in the short, dancing swells propelled over the lake by the gentle Welsh breeze.

"It looks even cozier than it had before!" Marlene smiled widely and headed down the short gravel path towards the building with a small bounce in her steps. "I can't wait to move in with you!"

"They even changed the color." Harry followed her a few steps behind, letting his eyes roam over brand new-looking roof tiles of the deepest black, instead of the fading red they had been before: "I quite like it."

"You'd have to live with it anyways because you already paid good galleons for it, wizard," an exasperated voice drifted over.

"Griphook-" Harry suppressed a small grin seeing the goblin waddle down the marble stairs of the manor entrance: "-how very fitting to seal the sale with the very person- excuse me- goblin who showed us around."

"This is your last chance, wizard," the creature hissed angrily: "Gringotts' offer to ward your estate only remains active until the sun has set." He flashed them a set of sharp black teeth: "In light of recent events and certain conflicts with a particular political faction, one would think that you'd have an ounce of logic and make the right preparations."

"They will be made, goblin." Marlene tossed her hair over her shoulder and wrinkled her nose while regarding him with a haughty expression: "We've already told you that we don't want your cheap wards, so just hand us the contract for the final payment already and let us be done with it."

"The arrogance of your kind!" Griphook hissed and pulled a roll of parchment from his uniform, his small eyes never leaving Marlene: "You will come to regret this, witch!"

"Are you threatening us, Griphook?" Harry asked in amusement, snatching the contract and accompanying quill from the goblin's sharp, bony fingers.

He signed it, handing it over to Marlene before throwing it back over against Griphook's chest: "Here you go. Now I suggest you get off my property. Quickly..."

The goblin sent them a final glare before seizing his portkey and getting whisked away in a swirl of colors.

"The few basic wards that have been cast during the renovations will be lifted the moment Griphook comes fuming into the warding department of Gringotts," Harry chuckled, his grin vanishing when he realized what they were then forced to do.

'But it has to be.'

"Let's cast our own then." Marlene reached for his backpack and carefully lifted out Aurelius' tome.

"I suppose it's time to say my goodbyes," the black shadow flickered over yellowed parchment as soon as they flipped the leathery inbound: "So, tell me, my descendants... How does your new home look?"

"It- it's beautiful." Marlene's head lifted briefly and she slowly spun on the spot, eyes roaming over the manor, lake, and scenery. A small hint of sadness welled up in her blue orbs and she seized Harry's hand: "Like- like a perfect place to raise a family..."

"Then you shouldn't mourn for me, Harry, and Marlene." The ink wrenched into a small, black flower that crumbled to ash before sprouting moments later in an endlessly repeating loop: "My passing merely announces a new era, a new generation of Peverells, who shall call this place their home for the centuries to come."

"Thank you, Aurelius..." Marlene whispered.

A single pearly tear trailed down her cheek and dropped onto the tome where it evaporated in soft sizzles.

She blinked and wiped it away with the ball of her thumb: "For everything you've taught me, for everything you've taught Harry. For making him the man I grew to love and wish to spend my future with."

"It was an honor, my lady," Aurelius replied: "Take good care of her, Harry, and take care of each other."

"We will," Harry vowed, clutching Marlene's hand while placing the open palm of the other on the tome. "We always will..."

"And always remember the words I said to you many months ago. What difference is there between victory and defeat when there's none to cherish and celebrate it with?" Aurelius whispered. "Don't let your story become cadmean, don't let it become pyrrhic..."

'When victory negates any true sense of achievement.' Harry stared in silence at the shadow of black ink, which seemed to crumble and shrink within the middle of the tome. 'But our victory will be different. It has to be.'

"Both of you are the future of the Peverells and your sunset is almost within reach," his ancestor's bust flickered for a final time until all that remained was a pair of black eyes: "Farewell, my descendants..."

'Goodbye, Aurelius.'

The ink faded on the page.

He felt a tide of sadness swap over him. It cut at Harry's heart with iron sharp claws.

'He's gone.'

"Come, Harry." Marlene's warm fingers slipped into his and she gently heaved him up: "Don't let his sacrifice go to waste."

"Of course not."

He carefully picked up the motionless tome, still able to feel the faint echoes of Aurelius' magic lingering in its ancient pages. His hold on Marlene's hand tightened and he forced the world past them, apparating to the very edge of the plot of land they had bought.

Ripping off a random page from within the tome felt like tearing out a small piece of himself. Yet Harry did so and let it glide to the ground to his feet, though not without strengthening his willpower.

"Together?" Marlene pulled her wand, the tip aimed at her open palm.

"Always together," Harry murmured before slicing his skin until crimson dwelled from within the cut.

He ignored the pain, having gotten used to it at this point. They each held out their hands, sprinkling the yellowed parchment with dark flecks of blood.

Angry whispers hissed from the pages. Steam twirled from the surface in small spirals, then the entire page crumbled into wisps of black mist that wrenched around in a puff of smoke before settling within the ground, leaving an eerie, darkish glow.

Harry tore his gaze away from the ground and eyed the distant manor, his eyes shifting to the edge of the woodlands behind the tallest tower. He picked up the tome, seized Marlene, and apparated them over with a faint snap.

Four more times they did repeat the process until each of them had cut their hand and bled on a yellowed page five times. The locations at which they had performed the individual parts of the ritual had been chosen specifically to create a five-cornered star with the manor right at its center.

'And now for the last bit.' They apparated onto the balcony of their new home, from where they oversaw the wide ground.

"This one might hurt a lot more," Harry said as he placed down the tome on the white stone tiles.

He drew in a deep breath, preparing himself to make a final cut over the very patch of pink skin that had crept back together mere seconds ago.

"It's just blood and pain," Marlene murmured, pulling up the sleeve of her blue dress and holding his gaze: "All things worth sacrificing for something great, something permanent."

They slashed the wands. Two subsequent splatters of blood trickled over the leather cover of the tome.

A searing wave of pain exploded in Harry's lungs. Pounding agony throbbed with each breath he drew.

'Something permanent.'

Harry staggered forward and thrust the Elder Wand up high into the air, drawing every last bit of his strength into the wood.

A beam of dark, gray magic erupted from the tip with a bang, flaring volatile, erupting outwards in potent ripples of air that had his skin prickle and made him squeeze his eyes shut.

Hissing black flames clawed at the tome to his feet, swallowing it with angry screams until the yellow pages and worn leather melted into the bright tiles of the balcony.

Thin, flaring layers of magic raced outwards from their position in steady surges, like a stone tossed onto the surface of a lake. They crept over the marble tiles, towards the railing, and further down over the grounds, coating everything in their path in a layer of wrenching magic.

He winced when an invisible force squeezed him, forcing the air out of his lungs. Fire surged through his veins, tearing a scream from his throat until it was all over just as quickly as it started.

Harry staggered to one knee, panting heavily. The Elder Wand slipped from his grip and clattered over the tiles.

"That-" Marlene gasped for air, clinging to the nearby railing, "-that was very uncomfortable." She wobbled over to him and attempted to help him back up: "Did it all work out?"

"I think so." Harry held out his hand and summoned his wand back in: "I suppose we'll find out when our special day arrives and we invite some guests in here… I'm sure they'll love the feeling of passing through our wards for the very first time…"

"Oh no, Harry! Now our wedding will be even less popular than it had been to begin with," Marlene sighed dramatically as she vanished the remaining blood from the spattered tiles with a wide smirk.

"What will the fine lords and ladies say after they find out that only a handful of people showed up to the Peverell wedding, the wedding of the century?" Harry grinned, leaning against the railing and scooping Marlene into his arms: "I'm terribly sorry for making you the laughingstock of the Wizengamot."

"I forgive you, my future husband." Her blue eyes met his and the small smirk widened: "Now, how about we find out how the wards react when I ask you to hurt me just a tiny bit?"